Prep girls cross country: Maxwell, Harleen lead Branson to its first MCAL title

Branson High senior Julia Maxwell is arguably the best girls cross country runner in the history of the MCAL. Her senior teammate Anna Harleen, however, might be the grittiest.

Just hours after gaining clearance from her doctor to run, Harleen, who has been battling foot problems for the last month, finished fourth Wednesday at the MCAL championships and helped the fired-up Bulls to their first team title since joining the Marin league 13 years ago.

The entire Branson squad was in assassin mode at the rugged 3.1-mile Indian Valley campus course. Led by Maxwell's unprecedented fourth MCAL title, the Bulls captured four of the top 10 spots in the finals.

"We found out Anna was running at 1 p.m.," a jubilant Maxwell said. "Having that extra surge of energy knowing Anna was going to run just pumped everybody up."

Harleen said she waited until the 11th hour to make her decision about running in the finals because she wasn't scheduled to see her physician until the morning of the race.

"I went to the doctor this morning and he told me it was not too big of a risk, so I ran," Harleen said. "And then we win it. I can't believe it."

"This thing would not be alive without Anna running today," Sayles said.

Maxwell, in her typically dominating style, took control of the race and ran away from the field, crossing the finish line nearly a minute ahead of her closest pursuer, Drake junior Sophia Noto.

"I was actually really nervous at the starting line," said Maxwell, who has endured her own foot ailments for most of the season. "I hadn't raced since September. But once I started running, I felt better than I anticipated. The final half-mile I was just soaking in every minute of it. It was the best feeling coming down the final chute in front."

Noto breathed a sigh of relief after realizing she no longer has to chase Maxwell. Branson competes in Division V at the Nov. 23 North Coast Section finals in Hayward and Drake is in Division III.

"I'm done with her," Noto said. "But finishing second to a runner as good as her — I'll take that."